Michael Wolff, a man not known to pull punches, hits it out of the park….
Barack Obama Is a Terrible Bore
Sheesh, the guy is Jimmy Carter.
That homespun bowling crap on Jay Leno, followed by the turgid, teachy fiscal policy lecture, together with the hurt defensiveness (and bad script for it) that everybody in Washington “is Simon Cowell… Everybody’s got an opinion,” is pure I’m-in-over-my-head stuff. Even the idea of having to go on Jay Leno to rescue yourself from the AIG mess is lame. Be a man, man.
The guy just doesn’t know what to say. He can’t connect. Emotions are here, he’s over there. He can’t get the words to match the situation.
This began, I’d argue, from the first moment. He punted on the inaugural. Everybody ran around like crazy trying to praise it because if Barack Obama couldn’t give a speech then what?
But now, at week 11, we’re face-to-face with the reality, the man can’t talk worth a damn.
You can see the fundamental mistake he’s making. Having been so successfully elected, he’s acting like people actually want to hear what he thinks. He’s the great earnest bore at the dinner party. Instead of singing for his supper, he’s just talking—and going on at length. The real job of making people part of the story you’re telling, of having them hang on your every word, of getting the tone and detail right, the hard job of holding a conversation, he ain’t doing.
He’s cold; he’s prickly; he’s uncomfortable; he’s not funny; and he’s getting awfully tedious
Meanwhile Slate can’t get over the fact that Bush isn’t President anymore. All the gaffe’s coming out of Obama and they ignore them all while still focusing on private citizen George Bush. Can’t say I’m shocked.
I can’t say I’m shocked that many are having buyers remorse either:
Goldman Sachs was solidly behind Barack Obama. Indeed, Goldman Sachs has long had the reputation as the investment bank with the most Democratic supporters on Wall Street.
But the vote earlier this week to impose a 90 percent tax on bonuses at TARP-supported firms has many at Goldman feeling betrayed, fearful and angry. On Thursday and Friday, the trading floor at Goldman echoed with brokers and traders cursing the lawmakers who passed the bill and seeking reassurance from their fellow employees that their bonuses wouldn’t be clawed-back. At least one Goldman trader called his lawyer to see what legal protections might be available
“Fuck Obama,” one person said aloud on the floor, giving voice to the feeling of political betrayal.
Word spread quickly that because the bonus tax only applies to TARP recipients, foreign banks wouldn’t be covered. At least a few people at Goldman Sachs have already called recruiters. And recruiters have stepped up efforts to poach Goldman employees offering jobs safe from the TARP bonus tax.
They got exactly what they asked for. Meanwhile, from Drudge:
Obama will call for increased oversight of ‘executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies’…
When will this slippery slope end?
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